AND 


DUPLICATE 


Ex  Libris 

Cat  and  Henry  H.  Bucher 


EESPONSIBILITIES 

OF 

AMERICAN  MERCHANTS 

FOR  THE 


CONVERSION  OF  THE  WORLD  TO  CHRIST. 


BY  JOHN  A.  JAMESON,  Esq., 

FREEPORT,  ILI<. 


NEW  YORK : 
I.  AV.  imiNCKERHOFF,  150  NASSAU-STREET. 
1855. 


This  treatise,  written  at  the  instance 
of  a  merchant  who  has  deeply  felt  the 
momentous  import  of  the  subject,  receiv- 
ed an  award  of  $100,  from  Messrs,  R. 
T.  Haines,  George  D.  Phelps,  and  Prof. 
Howard  Crosby,  of  New  York  city. 


TO 

THE  MERCHANTS 

OF 

THE  UNITED  STATES. 


It  is  proposed,  in  the  following  pages, 
to  set  forth  the  duties  which  merchants 
owe  to  the  cause  of  missions;  to  illus- 
trate briefly  the  claims  of  the  unevan- 
gelized  world  upon  them ;  and  to  enforce 
the  consequent  obligation  to  meet  and 
satisfy  those  claims. 

The  question,  whether  the  hopes  of 
tlic  Christian  church  in  regard  to  the 
ultimate  evangelization  of  the  world  are 
ever  to  be  fully  realized,  we  do  not  pro- 


4  TO  THE  MERCHANTS 

pose  to  discuss.  AVe  shall  assume  that 
the  prophecies  and  promises  of  Grod  in 
his  holy  word  make  certain  this  result, 
and  content  ourselves  with  alluding  to 
the  four  following  indications  that  it  is 
approaching. 

1.  Christianity  is  now  only  commenc-  ' 
ing  her  career  of  foreign  conquest.  So 
far  as  regards  the  world  at  large,  she  is 
in  her  youth,  and  for  the  first  time  since 
the  age  of  the  apostles  is  beginning  to 
address  herself  exclusively  to  her  great 
work  of  renovating  the  world. 

2.  The  condition  of  the  world  itself, 
as  a  field  for  Christian  efibrt,  is  now 
inviting  beyond  what  it  has  ever 'been 
since  the  death  of  our  Saviour.  The 
heart  and  mind  of  the  heathen  nations 
seem  to  be  stirring  within  them  with 
great  hopes,  having  reference  plainly  to 
the  establishment  among  them  of  a  new 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


5 


order  of  things,  wherein  shall  reign 
righteousness.  "With  great  truth  may 
it  be  said,  that  "Ethiopia  is  stretching 
out  her  hands  to  God,"  and  that  the  isl- 
ands of  the  sea  are  either  impatiently 
waiting,  or,  like  Macedonia  of  old,  ear- 
nestly calling  for  the  gospel. 

3.  The  relations  of  Christianity  to  the 
social  and  political  world  give  promise 
of  success  in  the  great  struggle  between 
light  and  darkness.  The  nations  of  Eu- 
rope and  America  most  conspicuous  for 
devotion  to  the  Christian  faith,  are  at 
the  same  time  the  dominant  nations  in 
political  enlightenment  and  power. 

4.  The  commerce  of  the  world  is  in 
the  hands  of  Christian  nations. 

Without  farther  preliininary  sugges- 
tions, we  proceed  directly  to  consider 
the  peculiar  fitness  of  merchants,  and 
particularly  American  and  Christian 


6 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


merchants,  for  the  service  of  gospel  pio- 
neers in  foreign  lands,  as  well  as  for 
giving  impulse  and  direction  to  mission- 
ary effort  at  home ;  and  their  consequent 
obligation  to  enter  heartily  into  this 
great  work. 

I.  In  the  first  place,  then,  merchants, 
as  such,  are  especially  fitted  for  the 
work  of  evangelization  by  their  extend- 
ed and  intimate  commercial  relations 
with  the  various  heathen  nations. 

Did  our  space  permit,  or  were  it 
deemed  necessary,  it  would  be  easy  to 
give  statistics  of  the  immense  commerce 
carried  on  by  the  merchant  vessels  of 
Europe  and  America  with  the  various 
quarters  of  the  world.  Our  object  is  a 
more  limited  and  personal  one.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  tliat  from  the  jjorts  of  Eng- 
land, France,  and  the  United  States, 
are  clearing  daily  many  hundreds  of 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  7 

merchant  vessels  for  trading-posts  in 
various  parts  of  the  heathen  world. 
There  are  also  the  national  vessels  of 
war,  of  which  the  officers  and  crews  are 
very  numerous,  and  in  relation  to  which, 
in  general,  the  same  reasoning  would 
apply.  Those  thus  visiting  foreign 
ports,  as  they  arrive  at  their  respective 
destinations,  become  the  representatives 
of  the  Christian  faith  to  the  eye  and  the 
heart  of  heathenism.  As  such  they  are 
regarded  by  the  votaries  of  idol-worship 
with  whom  they  come  in  contact.  The 
intelligent  pagan,  accustomed  to  the 
daily  spectacle,  among  his  own  coun- 
trymen, of  men  living  strictly  up  to  the 
requirements  of  their  religious  system, 
at  the  risk  of  life  and  estate,  judges  in 
like  manner  of  an  unknown  religion,  by 
the  fruit  it  bears  in  the  lives  of  its  pro- 
fessors.   Of  what  immense  importance 


8 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


is  it,  then,  that  the  officers  and  crews 
of  such  vessels  should  he  men  having 
the  true  spirit  of  Christianity ;  that,  in 
their  daily  intercourse  with  idolaters, 
they  should  exhibit  an  honorable  and 
virtuous  regard  for  their  feelings,  their 
rights,  and  their  spiritual  welfare ;  that 
they  should  be  men  zealous  to  labor  and 
to  pray  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel ;  or, 
that,  at  least,  they  should  be  upright 
and  moral  men,  unstained  by  the  vices 
too  prevalent  among  mariners  of  all  na- 
tions, so  as  to  throw  no  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  gospel  missionaries. 

How  much  evil  the  lack  of  common 
honesty  and  virtue  among  mariners  has 
wrought  to  the  cause  of  missions,  may 
be  seen  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  whore 
it  has  been  found  less  difficult  to  extir- 
pate the  idols  out  of  the  homes  and 
hearts  of  the  natives,  and  to  educate 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  9 

and  christianize  them,  than  to  coun- 
teract the  haleful  influence  of  nomi- 
nal Cliristians.  These  hitter,  flocking 
thither  from  all  lands,  for  no  higher  pur- 
pose than  the  acquisition  of  gain,  sow, 
even  among  the  converts  to  Christian- 
ity, the  seeds  of  intemperance  and  its 
kindred  vices.  How  can  this  be  other- 
wise, when  men  of  the  same  blood  and 
language  as  their  religious  teachers,  and, 
to  the  eye  of  the  heathen,  bearing  equal- 
ly the  stamp  and  seal  of  Christianity, 
show  by  their  daily  conduct  that  to  be 
a  Christian  and  at  the  same  time  a 
cheat  or  a  debauchee,  are  by  no  means 
incompatible  ?  A  few  ungodly  sailors 
from  Christian  ports,  "by  their  vicious 
example,  may  in  a  great  degree  neu- 
tralize the  efforts  of  a  missionary  sta- 
tion. This  is  because  men  will  always 
test  the  truth  and  value  of  a  new  relig- 


10 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


ious  system  by  the  effects  it  produces 
on  the  life  and  character  of  its  represen- 
tatives. 

The  heathen  world,  then,  has  a  right 
to  demand  of  the  merchants  of  Christian 
lands,  that  these  their  representatives 
shall  be  men  whose  example  will  not 
be  destructive  of  respect  for  the  religion 
with  which  they  are  nominally  connect- 
ed. Our  merchant  vessels  constitute  so 
many  shuttles,  plying  incessantly  be- 
tween the  dominions  of  Christian  light 
and  heathen  darkness,  and,  by  their 
subtle  threads,  weaving  together  the 
material  interests  of  regions  most  remote 
and  dissimilar:  should  they  not  also. 
Christian  merchants,  serve  as  conduct- 
ors of  the  heavenly  light  abounding 
among  you,  but  there,  alas,  rarely  or 
never  seen,  or  seen  only  half  obscured 
l)y  the  influence  of  evil  example  ? 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  11 

We  are  aware  that  a  practical  diffi- 
culty may  be  here  suggested — the  diffi- 
culty of  procuring  for  the  merchant  ser- 
vice sailors  and  officers  of  the  character 
required.  In  reply  to  this  objection  we 
have  two  suggestions  to  make,  which 
we  believe  will  show  it  to  be  ground- 
less. 

1.  The  general  principle  of  political 
economy,  that  "a  demand  will  beget 
a  supply,"  is  no  less  true  of  men  than 
of  products  of  a  particular  description 
and  quality.  Has  the  Christian  mer- 
chant made  the  effort  to  procure  crews 
for  his  vessels  who  would  exert  a  good 
moral  and  religious  influence?  We 
fear  there  are  few  who  can  answer  this 
question  in  the  affirmative.  How  then 
can  the  objection  be  honestly  urged, 
until  not  only  that  effort  has  been  per- 
severingly  made,  but  until  increased 


12    *  TO  THE  MERCHANTS 

remuneration  has  been  offered,  and  the 
offer  been  declined  by  men  of  such  a 
stamp  ? 

2.  Our  second  suggestion  is  founded 
on  the  too  general  persuasion  that  sail- 
ors are  and  must  be  abandoned  men; 
that  if  not  such  at  first,  their  occupation 
gradually  drags  them  down  to  that  con- 
dition. From  this  opinion  we  entirely 
dissent.  It  is  unfounded  in  principle, 
and  untrue  in  fact.  It  would  be  nearer 
the  truth  to  afhrin,  that  the  tendency  of 
employment  upon  the  high  seas  is  to 
render  the  hearts  and  minds  of  sailors 
more  than  usually  open  to  religious  im- 
pressions. There  is,  therefore,  no  neces- 
sity, arising  either  from  the  paucity  of 
Christian  seamen,  or  from  the  nature 
and  tendency  of  the  mariner's  vocation, 
for  longer  freighting  our  vessels  with 
vice  instead  of  virtue,  with  practical 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  13 

heathenism  instead-  of  vital  Christian- 
ity. 

II.  Merchants  are  peculiarly  fitted  for 
aiding  in  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  and 
the  claims  upon  them  are  proportiona- 
bly  weighty,  because  as  a  class  they  are 
preeminent  for  enterprise  and  practical 
business  talents;  and  because  they  con- 
trol the  bulk  of  the  floating  capital  of 
the  world. 

We  have  hitherto  spoken  of  the  offi- 
cers and  crews  of  our  merchant  and  na- 
tional vessels ;  but  it  is  not  they  alone 
who  represent  Christianity  abroad.  Mer- 
chants engaged  in  extensive  commercial 
operations  in  foreign  lands,  are  often 
themselves  brought  into  personal  rela- 
tions with  the  heathen  races ;  or  if  not, 
they  have  their  representatives  among 
them,  in  the  form  of  supercargoes  and 
commercial  agents — men  of  ability,  and 


14  TO  THE  MERCHANTS 

for  the  time  invented  with  the  power  of 
their  principals  for  good  or  for  evil.  The 
talents  and  capital  of  such  men,  if  prop- 
erly directed,  become  the  seed  and  spring 
of  great  moral  changes  in  the  districts 
where  their  business  is  transacted.  Of 
the  dependence  of  great  reformatory- 
movements  on  the  aid  of  business  men 
and  capital,  we  shall  have  occasion 
again  to  speak.  It  is  enough  now  to 
say,  that  the  mere  presence  in  a  com- 
munity of  men  of  practical  ability  and 
activity  —  qualities  always  the  most 
striking  and  attractive  of  popular  favor — 
provided  those  qualities  coexist  with  re- 
spect for  religion  and  virtue,  will  exert 
a  happy  influence  upon  the  moral  condi- 
tion of  that  community,  even  if  such 
men  do  not  actively  cooperate  with  the 
laborers  in  the  field  of  reform.  How 
much  more  will  that  influence  be  felt 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  15 

when  those  qualities,  so  potent  in  the 
harvest  of  wealth,  are  directed  to,  and 
especially  when  a  generous  portion  of 
the  income  realized  by  them  is  employ- 
ed in  the  nobler  harvest  of  men,  ripe 
for  receiving  the  gospel  into  their  hearts. 
And  better  than  all,  if  these  men  be 
worthy  followers  of  Christ,  men  not  only 
whose  moral  example  is  salutary,  but 
whose  labors  and  prayers  are  unwearied 
for  the  conversion  of  souls,  who  can 
measure  the  extent  of  their  beneficent 
influence,  or  despair  of  the  speedy  ohris- 
tianization  of  the  world  ? 

If  an  example  be  required  of  the  influ- 
ence of  commercial  men  and  capital  on 
the  moral  condition  of  a  heathen  race, 
study  the  terrible  picture,  presented  by 
Edmund  Burke,  of  India  under  its  early 
English  governors,  Clive  and  Hastings; 
or,  for  a  brighter  picture,  conceive  what 


16  TO  THE  MEECHANTS 

the  state  of  society  and  morals  in  India 
would  have  been,  had  the  ruling  class- 
es been  men  doing  justly  and  walking 
humbly  before  God;  had  they  meted 
out  to  the  subject  race,  not,  as  Burke 
says,  substa7itial  violence  and  formal 
justice,"  but  English  law  and  Protes- 
tant Christianity. 

Again,  we  ask  you,  merchants  of 
Christian  lands,  if,  with  the  Christian 
name,  the  possession  of  eminent  capac- 
ity and  great  capital  does  not  involve  a 
rightful  claim  upon  you,  that  those  en- 
dowments shall  be  so  directed  in  foreign 
parts  as  to  forward  the  work  of  evangeli- 
zation ;  or  that  at  least  they  shall  be  so 
employed  as  not  to  retard  the  achieve- 
ment of  that  work  ? 

III.  But  we  propose  to  show,  that  to 
these  grounds  of  rightful  claim  upon 
merchants  in  general,  are  to  be  added 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  17 

others  pressing  with  peculiar  force  upon 
the  merchants  of  the  United  States. 

1.  Our  country  is  largely  indebted  for 
its  free  institutions,  and  for  its  great 
material  prosperity,  to  a  spirit  among 
our  fathers  closely  akin  to  the  spirit  of 
missions.  To  labor  in  this  cause  is 
therefore  but  to  pay  in  kind  a  debt 
which  this  class,  in  common  with  our 
whole  nation,  owe  to  God  and  to  hu- 
manity. It  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that 
of  the  several  states  which  achieved  our 
revolution,  and  particularly  the  New 
England  states,  all  are  the  offspring  of 
missionary  effort.  What  was  it,  let  us 
ask,  that  brought  the  pilgrim  fathers  to 
New  England,  the  first  planters  to  Vir- 
ginia, the  Huguenots  to  South  Carolina, 
the  settlers  under  Oglethorpe  to  Georgia, 
but  the  unselfish  wish,  first  and  chiefly, 
to  plant  the  seed  of  the  church  in  a  new 

2 


18  TO  THE  MERCHANTS 

land,  not  alone  for  the  conservation  of  a 
pure  Christianity",  but  for  the  redemption 
also  of  the  heathen  races  inhabiting  its 
forests ;  and  secondly,  under  the  protect- 
ing shadow  of  the  church,  to  lay  deep 
and  broad  the  foundations  of  states,  in 
which  political  liberty  should  spring  up 
and  ripen  under  the  aegis  of  the  law? 
Prom  these  simple  men,  inspired  by  this 
grand  missionary  idea,  and  chiefly  in 
virtue  of  it,  has  sprung  a  nation  such  as 
the  world  never  saw;  whose  achieve- 
ments in  the  sphere  of  material  progress, 
are  exceeded  only  by  its  still  grander 
triumphs  in  the  sphere  of  intellectual 
and  moral  cultivation.  Can  it  be  that 
God  has  so  signally  blessed  this  gigantic 
missionary  enterprise,  and  that  you,  mer- 
chants of  the  United  States,  who  inherit 
much  of  its  fruits,  and  share  largely  in 
the  glory  of  its  accomplishment,  have 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  19 

no  duty  to  perform  to  help  consummate 
throughout  the  workl  this  great  work, 
initiated  by  your  fathers?  Can  it  be 
that  God  will  hold  you  guiltless,  if  you 
remain  idle  now,  when  Christianity  is 
mustering  her  forces  for  the  great,  and, 
we  may  hope,  the  final  conflict  with 
error  ? 

2.  The  social  position  of  merchants  in 
the  United  States  is  such  as  to  give 
them  greater  influence,  and  hence  the 
class  attracts  to  its  ranks  more  of  the 
best  talent  in  the  land,  than  in  commer- 
cial countries  generally;  their  obliga- 
tion, therefore,  in  respect  to  missionary 
effort,  is  in  the  same  proportion  greater. 
No  class  of  men  among  us  is  in  gen- 
eral more  honored,  or  worthy  of  honor, 
than  merchants.  In  our  small  towns 
and  villages  they  are  commonly  among 
the  most  intelligent  and  respectable 


20 


TO  THE  MERCHAKTS 


members  of  society ;  they  take  the  lead 
in  business  and  politics,  are  elected  to 
offices  of  trust,  and  are  listened  to  as 
oracles  of  opinion.  This  position  of  re- 
spect and  honor  induces  a  vast  number 
of  our  most  promising  young  men  to  be- 
gin life  as  merchants.  From  the  coun- 
try they  are  recruited  to  the  city,  where 
they  enter  into  the  wider  field  of  com- 
merce, with  every  prospect  before  them 
of  attaining  wealth,  or,  if  they  choose, 
political  honors.  The  poor  boy  often 
steps  from  the  counter  to  the  merchant's 
desk,  and  from  the  merchant's  desk  to 
the  senatorial  chair.  We  say  then,  that 
for  these  reasons,  the  merchants  of  the 
United  States  monopolize  much  of  our 
best  talent.  If  this  be  true,  have  we 
not  a  right  to  look  to  them  for  high 
views  of  duty  and  noble  efforts  in  the 
cause  of  God,  on  the  familiar  and  right- 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  21 

eous  principle,  that  of  them  to  whom 
much  has  been  given,  whether  of  wealth 
or  influence,  much  will  be  required  ? 

3.  The  fact  that  Americans  and  Amer- 
ican institutions  are  abroad  regarded 
with  especial  favor,  enhances  the  duty 
of  our  merchants  brought  in  contact  with 
heathen  nations,  to  labor  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  Christianity  among  them. 
The  practical  effect  of  national  predilec- 
tions and  antipathies  is  too  well  known 
to  need  much  comment.  The  greatest 
events  in  the  political  and  moral  world 
are  often  traceable  to  individual  or  pop- 
ular caprice.  An  irrational  public  sen- 
timent, for  instance,  in  England  and 
France,  has  for  ages  united  in  pronounc- 
ing those  nations  to  be  natural  enemies ; 
the  consequence  has  been,  that,  since 
the  time  of  William  the  Conqueror, 
they  have  repeatedly  deluged  the  con- 


22 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


tilient  with  blood,  and  even  when  at 
peace,  have  been  scarcely  less  hostile  to 
each  other  than  when  at  war.  Two  of 
the  mightiest  empires  of  Europe  owe 
their  early  christianization  to  a  caprice 
of  their  respective  sovereigns,  adopted 
and  imitated  by  the  ready  loyalty  of 
their  subjects,  in  consequence  of  which 
in  both  cases  a  nation  was  literally 
"borii  in  a  day."*  Especially  does  this 
principle  hold  with  the  more  unenlight- 

*  Clovis,  the  founder  of  the  French  nionarcliy,  was  con- 
verted, A.  D.  496,  under  the  influence  partly,  it  is  said,  of 
policy,  and  partly  of  the  example  of  his  Christian  queen 
Clotilda.  The  Franks,  his  subjects,  hastened  to  imitate 
his  example,  showing  themselves,  as  Gibbon  says,  "alike 
prepared  to  follow  their  heroic  leader  to  the  field  of  battle 
or  to  the  baptismal  font."  Gibbon,  Decline  and  Fall,  vol. 
3,  pp.  574-5. 

The  conversion  of  Vladimir  the  Great  of  Russia,  who 
began  to  reign  a.  d.  988,  and  of  his  Rus-sian  subjects,  after 
the  marriage  of  the  former  with  the  sister  of  the  Greek 
emperor,  was  brought  about  as  rapidly  and  by  similar 
means.  See  Goodrich's  Universal  History,  vol.  2,  p. 
1041. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  23 

ened  portions  of  the  world.  It  is  hardly 
possible,  therefore,  to  overestimate  the 
influence  of  the  United  States,  in  coun- 
tries where  they  are  regarded  with  unu- 
sual partiality  and  fator.  We  have  only 
to  allude  to  the  opening  of  Japan — an 
achievement  which  will  excite  admira- 
tion more  and  more,  as  the  difficulties 
which  hedged  it  about  are  better  under- 
stood, difficulties  that  had  baffled  the 
diplomacy  of  Europe  for  ages — to  illus- 
trate clearly  this  familiar  principle,  and 
to  show  forcibly  the  dominant  influence 
wielded  by  us  over  both  the  heads  and 
the  hearts  of  distant  nations.  Our  polit-- 
ical  constitution  also,  known  and  admir- 
ed wherever  there  are  hearts  sighing 
under  oppression,  enhances  greatly  the 
predisposition  among  the  people  of  for- 
eign nations  to  regard  us  and  ours  with 
especial  favor. 


24  TO  THE  MERCHANTS 

We  repeat,  therefore,  that  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  place  a  limit  to  the  influence 
our  country  may  exert,  if  we  have  but 
the  will  to  make  that  influence  felt. 
Rather  we  should  say,  that  influence 
will  and  must  he  felt,  for  good  or  for  evil. 
And  it  is  the  merchants  of  the  United 
States  who  are  chiefly  to  determine 
what  the  character  of  that  influence 
shall  be.  They  are  to  give  a  practical 
direction  to  it,  for  they  almost  alone 
come  into  intimate  relations  with  the 
acting  and  thinking  portion  of  the  for- 
eign population.  Is  not  Christianity, 
then,  entitled  to  call  upon  this  class  of 
men  for  the  heartiest  devotion  to  her 
cause,  when  God  has  so  disposed  events 
that,  whether  they  will  or  not,  they 
must  ever  be  influential  missionaries  to 
the  heathen — influential  for  evil,  if  not 
for  good  ? 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  25 

IV.  But  the  duty  of  our  merchants 
with  respect  to  this  cause  is  not  confined 
to  their  influence  in  foreign  lands.  Pos- 
sessed, as  we  have  seen,  of  a  kirge  pro- 
portion of  our  floating  capital,  it  is  clear- 
ly their  duty  to  make  liberal  and  regu- 
lar contributions  for  the  support  and  ex- 
tension of  missions  and  other  kindred 
enterprises.  This  is  a  duty  which  we 
wish  especially  to  enforce,  and  the  more, 
because  we  fear  it  has  never  been  fully 
appreciated.  There  is  reason  to  assert, 
that  the  mercantile  capital  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  has  not  been  duly  conse- 
crated to  the  work  of  the  Lord ;  that 
inerchants  have  never,  as  a  class,  recog-  ^ 
nized  it  as  their  duty  to  pay  tithes  of 
their  gain  to  Him,  in  whose  hands  are 
the  winds  that  float  their  commerce, 
and  who,  greatly  for  their  enriching, 
causes  the  sun  to  rise  and  the  rain  to 


26 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


descend.  With  many  noble  exceptions, 
we  fear  that  the  hands  of  our  merchants 
are  not  so  open  to  give,  in  proportion 
to  their  ability,  for  the  world's  evangel- 
ization, as  are  those  of  some  other  men, 
whose  means  are  less,  but  whose  rela- 
tions to  the  church  are  such  as  to  lead 
them  more  fully  to  consider  this  matter. 
It  is  too  often  the  case,  that  our  wealthy 
merchants,  who  give  at  all  for  benevo- 
lent purposes,  fail  properly  to  support 
the  cause  of  religion  by  seasonable  dona- 
tions; some  of  them  perhaps  intending 
at  the  end  of  their  mercantile  career  to 
make  princely  bequests.  We  would  not 
discourage  such  bequests ;  but  submit  to 
the  candid  consideration  of  our  business 
men,  whether  they  ought  not,  in  mer- 
cantile language,  "to  honor  the  drafts" 
of  the  Lord  upon  them  "  at  sight,"  look- 
ing for  his  promised  blessing  upon  giv- 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  27 

ing  according  as  we  receive,  and  at  the 
same  time  guarding  themselves  against 
the  prevalent  and  deceptive  sin  of  cov- 
etonsness. 

For  the  success  of  the  missionary 
cause,  it  is  needful  that  there  be  system 
and  regularity  in  giving.    No  merchant 
needs  be  told  how  unsafe  it  is  to  launch 
out  into  extensive  operations,  without  a 
reasonable  certainty  of  having  funds  to 
meet  all  emergencies.     So  it  is  here. 
The  societies  for  the  extension  of  mis- 
sions are  governed,  in  this  respect,  by 
precisely  the  same  principles  as  are  our 
mercantile  corporations.  It  is  clearly  the 
duty,  then,  of  that  class  of  men  who  can 
best  appreciate  the  necessities  of  such  a 
position,  and  who  are  in  general  best 
able  to  relieve  those  necessities,  to  be 
foremost  in  so  doing.     Let  our  mer- 
chants urge  the  churches  within  the 


28  TO  THE  MERCHANTS 

sphere  of  their  immediate  influence,  to 
aid  in  relievinfj  them.  This  we  regard 
as  especially  important.  The  Am.erican 
churches  contain  vast  numbers  of  our 
mercantile  men.  It  is  in  the  power  of 
these  men  greatly  to  influence  their  be- 
nevolent action ;  to  organize  it ;  to  give 
it  impulse  by  their  personal  activity  ;  to 
secure  to  it  regularity;  to  increase  its 
extent,  and  to  elevate  the  motives  to  it. 
It  is  due  to  their  position  in  society,  that 
this  power,  so  wide-reaching,  and  in  its 
possible  results  so  beneficent,  should  be 
conscientiously  exerted;  that  our  mer- 
chants should  take  upon  themselves  the 
office  to  which  they  are  entitled,  of  guar- 
dians of  the  churches  in  temporal  con- 
cerns ;  that  where  action  is  needed,  they 
should  urge  to  action,  and  where  the 
demand  is  for  a  liberal  contribution  to 
give  fresh  vigor  to  a  drooping  cause. 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  29 

that  they  should  make  it  a  matter  of 
personal  duty  to  give  generously,  sea- 
sonably, and  regularly  themselves,  and 
to  induce  others  to  do  the  same. 

As  our  merchants  are  frequently  the 
most  accomplished  and  energetic,  and 
often  the  only  business  men  in  our 
churches,  there  are  many  matters  of  de- 
tail relating  to  the  collection  and  prompt 
dispatch  of  contributions,  to  the  distri- 
bution of  missionary  tracts  and  periodi- 
cals, etc.,  which  are  liable  to  be  either 
poorly  executed,  or  entirely  neglected, 
unless  they  take  the  lead  therein.  And 
especially  is  this  true  in  our  smaller 
towns  and  villages.    The  stores  of  our 
country  merchants  are  little  centres  of 
circulation,  to  which  the  citizens  flock 
lor  the  sale  of  their  produce  and  the  pur- 
chase of  supplies;  where  they  expect 
not  only  to  hear  the  ne\^^s,  and  to  re- 


30 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


vise  their  opinions  on  politics  and  the 
social  questions  of  the  day,  but  to  re- 
ceive intelligence  and  practical  direc- 
tion in  reference  to  all  benevolent  move- 
ments. These  expectations  of  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lives,  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  merchant  promptly  and  cheer- 
fully to  meet.  His  skill  and  capital 
are  in  the  nature  of  a  trust,  to  this  end, 
from  God  himself;  and  to  God  must 
he  answer,  if  he  be  unfaithful  to  that 
trust. 

Again,  the  business  habits  of  mer- 
chants qualify  them,  beyond  other  men, 
for  imparting  the  necessary  vigor  and 
steadiness  to  the  various  organizations 
for  missionary  purposes  throughout  our 
land.  Men  in  general  have,  and  ought 
to  have,  great  confidence  in  the  opinions 
of  merchants  upon  all  business  plans. 
Missionary  societies  are  business  socle 


OP  THE  UNITED  STATES.  31 

ties,  and  as  sucli  ought  to  be,  to  some 
extent,  under  the  management  and  con- 
trol of  business  men.  The  countless 
details  growing  out  of  missionary  opera- 
tions cannot  be  safely  managed  by  un- 
skilful hands.  For  the  collection  and 
disbursement  of  funds,  for  the  regula-' 
tion  of  exchange  on  foreign  countries, 
for  the  extensive  purchases  needed  in 
the  outfit,  the  support  abroad,  and  the 
return  of  missionaries,  precisely  the  skill 
of  an  able  merchant  is  indispensably 
necessary.  In  this  respect,  these  resem- 
ble the  more  gigantic  operations  of  war, 
in  which  the  success  of  a  campaign  often 
depends  as  much  on  the  administration 
of  the  exchequer,  or  on  the  humble  offi- 
ces of  the  quarter-master,  as  on  the  skil- 
ful strategy  of  the  general.  So  it  is  in 
all  great  moral  and  social  revolutions; 
they  are  bottomed  on  financial  opera- 


32 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


tions.  These  constitute  the  skeleton, 
absolutely  necessary  to  give  strength 
and  stability  to  the  body  whereby  the 
Spirit  works.  Our  missionary  socie- 
ties, under  the  leadership  of  eminent 
divines  alone,  woiild  doubtless  effect 
much  good,  as  they  have  already  ef- 
fected much.  Men  of  great  ability  are 
many-sided  men,  and  readily  adapt 
themselves  to  any  required  position. 
But  consider  how  much  greater  would 
be  the  efficiency  of  those  societies,  were 
the  details  of  their  business  conducted 
by  men  of  business,  entering  thereupon 
with  the  zeal  that  characterizes  them 
when  engaged  in  their  own  affairs.  For 
this  reason,  we  wish  to  urge  upon  the 
merchants  of  the  United  States  the  duty 
they  owe  to  God  and  to  humanity,  to 
connect  themselves  earnestly  and  with- 
out delay,  with  the  various  societies  for 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  33 

the  spread  of  the  gospel.  It  is  certain- 
ly the  right  of  the  church  and  of  the 
world  to  demand  this,  and  in  view  of 
the  many  providences  of  God  relating 
to  them,  He  seems  to  he  repeating  to 
each  in  unmistakahle  language,  the  in- 
junction, "Son,  go  work  to-day  in  my 
vineyard." 

Thus  much  in  relation  to  the  duties 
and  responsibilities  of  merchants  in  gen- 
eral throughout  the  United  States. 

To  such  of  this  class,  however,  as  are 
professed  followers  of  Christ,  additional 
considerations  of  great  weight  may  he 
presented,  growing  out  of  their  Chris- 
tian profession  and  character.  These 
men  have  taken  upon  themselves  a 
most  solemn  vow  of  consecration  to  the 
service  of  God.  In  language  whose 
import  cannot  he  misunderstood,  they 
have  professed  their  readiness  to  deny 

3 


34 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


themselves,  even  to  the  surrender  of  life, 
for  the  furtherance  of  their  Master's 
cause.  If,  then,  the  merely  nominal 
Christian,  living  "without  God  in  the 
world,"  is  invested,  among  the  heathen 
who  know  not  God,  with  the  character 
and  responsibilities  of  an  ambassador  of 
Christ,  what  shall  we  say  of  him  who, 
by  his  voluntary  act,  has  separated  him- 
self from  the  world,  with  the  declared 
purpose  of  devoting  himself  to  the  ser- 
vice of  God  ?  Has  he  no  special  duty 
to  perform,  when  the  very  crisis  ap- 
proaches for  which  his  consecration  was 
made?  We  ask  not,  if  there  is  not 
much  for  him  to  do;  has  he  not  also 
much  to  suffer,  if  need  be,  for  the  tri- 
umph of  the  cause,  whose  champion  lie 
has  proclaimed  himself  to  be?  The 
pagan  devotee,  obeying  the  imagined 
behests  of  some  deity,  will  cheerfully 


OP  THE  UNITED  STATES.  35 

submit  to  bodily  torture,  or  to  death,  to 
win  the  approval  of  his  perverted  con- 
science, or  of  the  god  which  his  own 
hands  have  made.    Has  Christianity 
alone  no  martyrs  ?    Has  she,  of  all  the 
religions,  no  disciples  whose  zeal  will 
lead  them  to  sacrifice  wealth  and  ease 
for  a  cause  to  which  they  have  devoted 
themselves  thus  solemnly  ?    And  is  this 
true  in  an  age  when  there  is  no  earth- 
ly, interest  so  unimportant,  but  that  it 
chronicles  the  names  of  many  who  have 
died  to  secure  or  extend  it?  Martyrs 
and  disciples  of  such  devotion  Chris- 
tianity indeed  has ;  as  witness  the  zeal- 
ous labors  and  self-denials  of  her  mis- 
sionaries, and  of  the  gospel  ministry. 
But  are  there  none  to  help  when  God 
calls,  but  His  servants  consecrated  by 
the  laying  on  of  hands  ? 

Not  thus.  Christian  merchant,  is  the 


36  TO  THE  MERCHANTS 

conversion  of  the  world  to  be  accom- 
plished. For  the  consummation  of  this 
work,  God  requires  not  only  the  labors 
and  contributions  of  the  nominally- 
Christian  world,  all  centering  upon  this 
object;  but  with  still  greater  emphasis, 
He  demands  the  labors,  the  contribu- 
tions, and  the  life-long  sacrifices  of  all 
who  bear  His  name  and  seal  in  the 
church.  He  demands  the  exhibition  of 
the  same  spirit  which  led  the  apostles, 
and  after  them  the  Protestant  reformers, 
to  rejoice  in  persecution,  and  to  welcotne 
death,  if  their  blood  might  hasten  the 
triumphs  of  their  faith.  These  claims 
He  founds  upon  the  covenant  between 
Him  and  them,  whereby  they  have  sworn 
to  live  for  His  glory  and  the  extension 
of  His  kingdom.  The  heathen  world 
adopts  and  urges  these  claims.  It  de- 
mands that  the  Christian  professor  shall 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  37 

show  the  superiority  of  his  faith  hy  de- 
votion at  least  equal  to  that  of  the  vota- 
ries of  idol-worship;  that  the  deposita- 
ries of  the  gospel  shall  not  go,  .the  one 
to  his  farm  and  the  other  to  his  mer- 
chandise, leaving  the  world  in  the  mean- 
time to  perish,  but  that  they  shall  speed 
the  heavenly  message  on  its  way,  until, 
under  its  influence,  all  nations  shall  be 
converted  to  God. 

Upon  the  special  means  to  be  adopted 
by  the  Christian  merchant  to  aid  the 
work  of  missions,  we  do  not  propose  to 
dwell ;  but  there  is  one  weapon  so  es- 
sential and  so  potent,  that  a  few  words 
must  be  devoted  to  it  in  this  connection. 
We  allude  to  prayer.  For  the  achieve- 
ment of  the  great  conquest,  God  will  be 
inquired  of  by  the  collective  body  of  His 
children.  He  demands  to  this  end  that 
their  prayers  shall  ascend  unceasingly 


38 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


for  the  outpouring  of  His  Holy  Spirit 
upon  the  heathen  world.  It  is  solely 
through  the  influence  of  this  Spirit  that 
God  works  in  converting  the  soul ;  and 
we  repeat  it,  although  God  requires  the 
physical  energies,  the  Avealth,  and  the 
lives  of  his  children,  as  instrumentalities 
in  forwarding  His  work  of  regenerating 
the  world,  yet  His  plan  is  to  effect  this 
work  through  the  agency  of  His  Holy 
Spirit,  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  His 
church.  Is  it  possible  then,  Christian 
merchant,  to  overstate  the  claims  which 
the  heathen  world,  passionately  calling 
for  light,  has  upon  you,  thus  doubly 
bound  to  respond,  both  as  a  merchant 
and  as  a  Christian?  To  you, , if  possi- 
ble more  than  to  other  men,  is  directed 
the  command,  "Go  ye  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  crea- 
ture."    Upon  you  also,  if  unfaithful, 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  39 

will  rest  with  overwhelming  weight 
the  curse  of  that  wicked  servant  who 
hid  his  Lord's  money:  "Take  from  him 
the  pound,  and  give  it  unto  him  that 
hath  ten  pounds.  For  unto  every  one 
that  hath  shall  he  given,  and  from  him 
that  hath  not,  even  that  he  hath  shall 
be  taken  away  from  him," 

•  We  have  thus  presented  as  fully  as 
our  space  would  permit,  a  few  of  the 
grounds  of  the  claims  of  the  unevangel- 
ized  world  upon  the  mercantile  classes. 
We  have  shown  that  they  stand  as  the 
representatives  of  Christianity  abroad, 
and  that  accordingly  as  they  there  de- 
port themselves,  our  religion  is  honored 
or  dishonored,  and  the  labors  of  its  mis- 
sionaries facilitated  or  retarded.  We 
have  shown  that  they  wield  the  most 
potent  of  social  weapons,  business  skill, 


40  TO  THE  MERCHANTS 

and  capital;  that  the  merchants  of  our 
own  country  are  invested  with  still 
greater  power  abroad,  by  reason  of  the 
favor  that  awaits  every  thing  Ameri- 
can, and  at  home,  by  reason  of  their  emi- 
nent social  position ;  and  that  their  con- 
nection, in  numerous  cases,  with  the 
churches  throughout  our  land,  while  it 
increases  their  duties  and  responsibili- 
ties, increases  also  their  power,  by  faith- 
ful prayer  and  labors,  to  hasten  on  the 
time  when  the  world  shall  be  converted 
to  God. 

Merchants  of  the  United  States,  shall 
these  claims  be  disregarded? 

Even  on  the  supposition  that  you 
were  to  be  influenced  only  by  secular 
considerations,  there  is  reason  why  you 
should  put  your  shoulders  firmly  to  this 
work.  It  is  directly  for  your  worldly  in- 
terest that  the  cause  of  missions  shouhl 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  41 

go  forward ;  that  the  world  should  be 
subdued  by  the  spirit  of  the  gospel.  As 
Christianity  spreads  more  and  more 
widely,  civilization  keeps  pace  with  it, 
and  in  the  train  of  civilization  march 
commerce  and  the  arts.  Every  mis- 
sionary station  established  amidst  the 
darkness  of  paganism,  becomes  a  centre 
not  only  of  light,  but  of  beneficent  social 
changes.  Where  Christianity  enters, 
indolence  gives  place  to  activity;  ener- 
vating habits  are  thrown  ofi";  men  seek 
the  improvements,  and  enlist  in  the 
trades  and  professions,  peculiar  to  more 
cultivated  lands.  All  these  changes, 
and  such  as  these,  enlarge  the  sphere  of 
the  merchant,  whether  he  be  engaged 
in  foreign  commerce  or  the  narrower 
circle  of  domestic  trade.  Prices  rise,  the 
demand  for  new  products  increases,  and 
with  the  number  of  his  customers  in- 


42  TO  THE  MERCHANTS 

creases  his  wealth  and  influence.  In 
this  view  of  the  subject,  it  is  but  a  state- 
ment of  the  naked  truth  to  say,  that 
the  consummation  of  the  great  work  for 
which  the  church  is  praying  and  all 
good  men  are  laboring,  the  conversion 
of  the  world  to  Christ,  is  but  another 
name  for  the  final  triumph  of  commerce 
and  the  arts. 

But  there  is  a  higher  argument  than 
this,  and  to  comprehend  it  in  its  full 
force,  allow  the  world  for  a  moment  to 
recede  from  you,  that  you  may  no  longer 
be  deafened  by  the  clash  of  its  business 
or  blinded  by  the  glare  of  its  petty  inter- 
ests. Look  steadily  at  the  complexion 
of  its  past  history.  First  in  order,  came 
the  ruder  conflicts  of  man  with  nature 
and  with  the  savage  instincts  of  his  fel- 
low-man ;  then,  empires  warring  against 
empires,  the  march  and  countermarch 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  43 

of  armies,  personal  ambition,  represented 
by  the  Caesars  and  Tamerlanes,  fighting 
against  the  rights  of  man;  next,  near 
to  our  day,  the  beneficent  dawn  of  sci- 
ence, the  application  of  material  forces 
to  the  amelioration  of  human  ills,  the 
printing-press,  the  steam-engine.  In  the 
successive  acts  of  this  grand  drama,  are 
there  not  discernible  tokens  of  a  heav- 
en-appointed task  for  each  great  histor- 
ical period — of  a  special  mission  for 
each  in  the  scheme  of  Providence,  the 
actual  working  out  of  which,  blindly  or 
otherwise,  makes  up  its  history  ?  Then 
look  at  the  age  which  is  just  now  dawn- 
ing. Observe  the  general  stirring  of 
our  whole  race  in  relation  to  the  mighty 
questions  of  political  and  religious  free- 
dom, and  ask,  "  What  is  the  mission  of 
this  our'  a  {re  ?  What  has  Qod  (jriren  it 
in  charge  to  do?    Is  it  not  pUiinly  this — 


44  TO  TKE  MERCHANTS 

to  enfranchise  the  world  from  all  forms 
of  oppression  and  error?''  If  this  be  ad- 
mitted, then  turn  your  eyes  to  the  United 
States.  Look  at  the  striking  providences 
attending  its  origin  and  progress ;  its 
rise,  in  a  century  or  two,  to  the  first  rank 
among  Christian  powers;  its  unexam- 
pled political  freedom;  the  ubiquity  of 
its  commerce,  wonderful  a  century  ago, 
now  attributable  to  magic,  were  not  the 
finger  of  God  evidently  in  it ;  the  univer- 
sality of  its  education;  the  unwearied 
energy  of  its  people ;  and  the  abounding 
comforts  of  its  domestic  life ! — and  say, 
in  view  of  all  this,  if  G-od  has  not  unde- 
niably raised  up  such  a  nation,  in  such 
an  age,  for  some  grand  purpose?  and 
say  further,  if  that  purpose  be  not  also 
that  of  the  age,  the  complete  enfran- 
chisement of  the  world  from  all  forms 
of  oppression  and  error  ? 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  45 

That  this  is  the  purpose  of  God  with 
respect  to  our  country,  history  is  begin- 
ning  to  show.  The  principles  of  our 
revolution  early  set  fire  to  France;  all 
Europe  is  now  ablaze  from  the  same 
spark.  So,  under  our  leadership,  pagan 
and  Mahomedan  idolatry  are  soon  to  be 
dissipated  by  the  light  of  a  pure  Chris- 
tianity. The  work  is  already  begun; 
we  believe  it  will  be  surely  and  speed- 
ily accomplished.  If  these  things  be 
so,  is  it  not  imperative  upon  you,  Amer- 
ican merchants,  as  among  the  foremost 
men  in  influence  of  our  nation,  to  make 
yourselves  servants  of  God's  providence 
in  this  matter;  to  recognize  and  wel- 
come the  grand  mission  of  your  age  and 
nation,  and  by  your  earnest  labors  and 
prayers  to  strive  to  hasten  its  accom- 
plishment? 

The  work  will  undoubtedly  go  for- 


46 


TO  THE  MERCHANTS 


ward  though  you  should  stand  aloof,  or 
even  oppose  it,  for  it  is  God's  work ; 
and  "  if  it  be  of  God,  you  cannot  over- 
throw it,  lest  haply  ye  be  found  even 
to  fight  against  God."  But  if  you  be 
faithful  servants,  you  may  aid  greatly 
in  gaining  for  your  Master's  cause  a 
speedy  triumph,  and  then  as  is  the  work, 
so  will  be  your  gracious  reward,  exceed- 
ingly great  and  glorious.  Lord  Bacon 
tells  us,  in  his  "Nova  Atlantis,"  of  an 
island  city,  Bensalem,  that  every  year 
sent  out  twelve  men,  in  disguise,  into 
foreign  lands,  to  collect  and  bring  back 
what  he  quaintly  calls  "the  books,  and 
obstructs,  and  patterns  of  experiments 
of  all  other  parts."  These  men  they 
styled  "  merchants  of  light."  So,  if  you 
be  obedient  to  the  divine  voice,  that 
seems  to  be  urging  missionary  effort  as 
your  special  duty,  you  will  become 


OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  47 

"merchants  of  light"  also,  and  in  a 
more  glorious  sense  than  those  apostles 
of  the  fabled  Bensalem;  you  will  be- 
come exporters,  to  a  world  lying  "in 
darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death,"  not 
of  the  dim  light  shed  from  books  of 
worldly  wisdom,  but  of  the  diviner  light 
of  the  Gospel,  which  shines  on  none  but 
to  bless  and  save. 


